<p>Its that time of year, and Im starting to feel pretty nervous. So, if you wouldnt mind reading what Ive got and filling me in on my weaknesses, I would really appreciate it. Im sure there are plenty of people smarter than me out there and Id love to hear your opinions. I know its a bit of a read, so feel free to skim. Thanks again, I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>Biographical Information:</p>
<ol>
<li>Male</li>
<li>Hispanic / Latino</li>
<li>Southern Texas</li>
<li>First Generation College Student</li>
</ol>
<p>Statistics and Numbers:</p>
<ol>
<li>Top 15% of Graduating Class (40/350)</li>
<li>GPA = (98.7 / 100 W) and (93.9 / 100 UW)</li>
<li>SAT = 2120 (Taken in One Sitting)</li>
<li>SAT II = Scores Pending</li>
<li>APs = Human Geography (4), World History (5), US History (5), Chemistry (4), Spanish (4), English Language (5)</li>
<li>National Spanish Exam = Top 10% Nationally </li>
</ol>
<p>Courses and School Information:</p>
<ol>
<li>Top 1% College Preparatory HS in South Texas</li>
<li>Ive picked as rigorous of a course load as I possibly could, however underclassmen are only allowed one AP course per year. (H) indicates an honors course. </li>
<li>Freshman = Spanish II (H), Geometry (H), Human Geography (AP), English I (H), Biology I (H), Football, Track</li>
<li>Sophomore = Computer Science I (H), Algebra II (H), World History (AP), English II (H), Chemistry I (H), Spanish III (H), Art I</li>
<li>Junior = US History (AP), Chemistry II (AP), Computer Science II (AP), English III (AP), Spanish IV (AP), Pre-Calculus (H), Physics I (H)</li>
<li>Senior = Calculus BC (AP), Biology II (AP), English IV (AP), American Government (AP), Psychology (AP), Micro-Economics (AP), Internship Period</li>
</ol>
<p>Outside of School Courses:</p>
<ol>
<li>Introduction to Biology (MITx) = Passed</li>
<li>Solid State Chemistry (MITx) = Passed</li>
</ol>
<p>Sports:</p>
<ol>
<li>Football = I played for one year (Team MVP), but fractured my spinal column while training for sophomore year, so unfortunately I cannot play anymore.</li>
<li>Track = Sadly, the same situation as above.</li>
<li>Bodybuilding = After rehabilitating from my injury, Ive gotten extremely involved in bodybuilding. I lift before school 5 times a week and do a little bit of personal training for people in my local community.</li>
</ol>
<p>In School Extra-Curricular Activities:</p>
<ol>
<li>National Honor Society = The work Ive done while a part of NHS fits better in the Outside of School EC section.</li>
<li>National Spanish Honor Society = I take the National Spanish Exam (NSE) each year and screen experimental tests for my school district. For my NSHS service project, I taught English to dozens of Spanish-speaking elementary school kids at my high school while their parents were taking night classes.</li>
<li>Chemistry Club = Ive taken groups of other students along with me to take the American Chemical Societys (ACS) Exam and received the highest score in my district for two consecutive years.</li>
<li>Student / Board Liaison = Honestly, I was a little bothered that the Student Council kids didnt actively participate and instead use their positions for résumé padding. So, I created (with the districts help) three positions that act as conduits for student voice. Weve had a lot of fun and have introduced new, experimental curriculum that teaches through application of knowledge, as well as internship connection outlets for students to find what theyre interested in. I hold the founders position and will pass the torch when I graduate. </li>
<li>Student Aperture = Building off of the last thing I mentioned, I decided to build an official academic organization at my HS (not an interest group since they have no power really), as a centralized hub for all of the awesome stuff coming out the student / board meetings. I coded a website, made podcasts, wrote papers and short articles, created a blog, and got featured in my city newspaper to help spread the word about what we thought was wrong with traditional education methods. If anyone is interested in knowing more, PM me and Id love to tell you as much as I can!</li>
<li>Ultimate Frisbee Club = Just as a fun way to blow off stress, I helped create a club with about 100 members that meets weekly to play. I know it seems silly, but it has totally been worth it.</li>
<li>Academic Decathlon = I have been the team captain of my schools decathlon team for all four years, where Ive raised funding for each season, coordinated team study sessions, organized pre-season debates, and won several medals like, Team MVP (Region), 1st Interview (Region), 1st Speech (Region), and 1st Science (Region). As a team, weve gone to region twice and state once and weve got a strong team this year so I hope well be fortunate enough to go back!</li>
</ol>
<p>Outside of School Extra-Curricular Activities:</p>
<ol>
<li>3-Day-Start-Up = Ive competed for two sessions in a 72-hour, hyper-condensed entrepreneurial start-up program in my city. Here, Ive won team MVP twice, built a company (elaborated on later), and have made several amazing professional relationships that will definitely help me after college. My business pitches are all online as well.</li>
<li>Molecular Pathogens Research = Last summer, I spent 60 hours interning in the oncological ward of a pathogens lab. My responsibilities included DNA extraction, biomarker reading, scheduling and interacting with patients, and general solution preparation. I loved being able to work with gifted individuals in the field as well as learn more about the disease affecting my mother (thyroid cancer). </li>
<li>Pre-Clinical Research = The same summer, I spent another 60 hours learning how medicine goes from lab bench to patient bedside. My responsibilities included incubation, in vitro testing, and drug effectiveness testing. This job was especially valuable for me because I worked closely under a PhD who has helped me immensely with proper lab procedure.</li>
<li>Spark Education = Last summer, I, along with several other friends, built a community organization to teach STEM to underperforming middle school students in the impoverished portions of my community. We contacted over a dozen schools, hosted 10 weekend-long sessions with over 50 kids each time, and saw massive increases in their grades back at school. During the sessions which took place in a local co-working space, we split the groups up into teams, taught them Programming, Web Design, Entrepreneurship, and Robotics, and had them present to their parents. Honestly, getting to see them go from dejected to engaged was the most fulfilling thing you could imagine. At the end of the day, Id like to say we inspired a new wave of local entrepreneurs and engineers!</li>
<li>Start-Up Venture = After the second 3-Day-Start-Up session, I kept in contact with my team and founded a new (yet-to-be-named) company that deals with severe problems affecting the academic publishing community (Ive had to be vague because of intellectual property contracts). I hold the CFO and co-founder position. Weve gotten 50,000$ of funding from investors, hired a team of 5 amazing programmers, established a primary market to test our beta, and garnered the attention of many philanthropists. Hey, now I can afford to go to college! Potentially, this project could be huge and Im excited to see where it takes me. </li>
</ol>
<p>Recommendations:</p>
<ol>
<li>I have a humanities teacher and my district superintendent (Im actually very close with him, so dont worry, Im not just name dropping) writing my two letters. I know how important these are and Ive taken careful measure to make sure they are both very personal, intimate recommendations that focus on my as a person and not just a student.</li>
</ol>
<p>Essays:</p>
<ol>
<li>For my essay, Ive chosen to write a short, metaphorical piece that relates lessons learned in the gym to lessons learned from real life. Honestly, I felt very passionate about it, especially after my back injury. The way I approach problems and deal with failure all comes from underneath the squat rack. So, Ive spent months writing as openly and as personally as possible to help convey my voice and be as unique as possible. </li>
</ol>
<p>School List:</p>
<ol>
<li>Early Decision = Johns Hopkins University</li>
<li>Early Action = Northeastern University, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley </li>
<li>Regular Decision = MIT, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, UT, Texas A&M, Rice, and Boston University </li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you so much and I truly value each of your opinions and thoughts!</p>
<p>I may have forgotten some things, so Ill edit and add as needed. Feel free to ask or message me if I forgot something obvious, I know I probably did.</p>